my dinner rendezvous

3 girls..
from 3 different countries
3 different religions

A Cambodian Buddhist.
A Chinese Moslem.
A Malaysian Christian.

But all three are Chinese.

These are the people I went dinner with yesterday.I just thought it's interesting that our path may crossed eventhough we are from different countries,different cultural and different religions :)

a moment of silence..

I really do not know how to response to the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe in New Orleans.
It is heart-wrenching when i read the news today. Many were are still stranded/unsaved even after six days of the disaster.

Louisiana official haunted by drowned woman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A New Orleans official was overcome by emotion on national television on Sunday when describing how a woman was abandoned and eventually drowned after repeated promises she would be rescued.

"The guy who runs this building I'm in, the emergency management, who's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said are you coming, son, is somebody coming," Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, said as he burst into heavy sobbing on NBC's Meet the Press program.

"And he said 'yeah mama, somebody's coming to get ya, somebody's coming to get ya on Tuesday, somebody's coming to get ya on Wednesday, somebody's coming to get ya on Thursday, somebody's coming to get you on Friday.'

"And she drowned Friday night, she drowned Friday night. Nobody's coming to get us."

"Nobody's coming to get us, nobody's coming to get us," Broussard said through tears.

Broussard, president of the parish just south of New Orleans, did not give the woman's name.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina "will go down as one of the worst abandonments of Americans on American soil ever in U.S. history," he said.

Local and federal officials said they expected to find thousands of corpses still floating in flood waters or locked inside homes and buildings destroyed by the devastating storm that struck the U.S. Gulf Coast last Monday.

Broussard said the government must acknowledge the part it played in senseless deaths.

"It's not just Katrina that caused all these deaths in New Orleans," he said. "Bureaucracy has committed murder here in the greater New Orleans area, and bureaucracy has to stand trial before Congress now."

He demanded congressional hearings on what went wrong in the chaotic aftermath of the hurricane.

"They've had press conferences. I'm sick of press conferences. For God's sake, shut up and send us somebody."

Maybe we could at least spend a moment of silence or say a little prayer for the victims.

My Sabbath 02.09.05 3.39pm

Yesterday Annette said that it’s good to practice Sabbath on our own. I guess I really need one.

Sabbath means, reflecting what you have been doing for the past one week or more. Trying to recall what you have learnt or encountered. Hmm, I’m not sure if I’m getting it correct. But, I’ll just do it anyway :)

So, here is it, in no chronicle orders, or any order for a matter of fact, I’ll just scribble about anything that come to my mind :D

• I’m listening to “Get Your Number” by Mariah Carey ft Jermaine Dupri. I like this song
• I had bought more than 12 pieces of clothes (tops and bottoms) in a span of 3 months – It’s MEGA sales!
• I’ve met up with my old buddies(Canmy, Eevon, Hoonli) last Saturday over a friend’s birthday party which I was not invited *grin* (the birthday girl tot that I’m still in MMU, Malacca! That’s why she didn’t invite me :D).
• We chatted about the past (way back to primary school!), now and future.
• I’ll be meeting one of my best friend, maybe the bestest, during secondary school, this Sunday! I’m excited.
• Been keeping in touch with old buddies through blog (kaisim, jayne)
  
• I’m taking a 3-months break to make/reconsider a major decision of what I had always wanted to do 2 years ago.
• I’m unchurched! (for various reasons- er, is there such word?)
• Reexamining my faith.
• I found partners to explore other churches together and we started Symphony after we were given some assignments from a pastor.
• Visited more churches than I have for the past 3 years.
• Discover a church that served real wine during communion! *grin*
• Found a church I like.
• But still unchurched :) but I’m excited to go to church again!
• Talk to a pastor on Yahoo Messenger. And I think that’s cool :D
• I had been reading blogs. Many blogs.
• Started to blog again.
• Attending all bible surgeons’ meeting.
  

*Bible surgeons – the name of a bible study group in MMU, facilitated by Annette and Kevin. We meet on 8.15pm @ B3-6-8, Cyberia every Thursday.

• Am tremendously blessed by studying the Words with Annette before CF, even though it was only 30minutes
• Has been a potato couch.
• Oh, I’ve graduated!*smiles*
• Took a family photo during my convocation.
• He called me a few times after so many years to ask for something.
• Make someone’s life miserable, and I feel miserable too.
• Try to be a friend.
• Idle for 3 weeks.
• Visited my god-sister.
• Ate in Murni. And I like it.
• My FYP supervisor invited me to join his company, but I haven’t finish doing the task he gave. :(
• I want to do my Master by research, but couldn’t get any funding.
• I met a Cambodian girl in the campus and became friend.
• I missed singing and playing with Cambodian kids.
• I missed Cambodia food.
• I enjoy being lazy and doing nothing.
• Missed Acts’ worship.
• Oh, I cycled in Putrajaya!
• I enjoyed the garden in Alamanda.
• Rejoice on my friend’s wedding. (that makes me feel old, ahaha..)
• Will be catching up with Canmy during her birthday party on 1^st Oct in Taiping. (looking forward to it)
• I felt disconnected.
• I missed my old friends and I learn to appreciate them.
• Decided to buy a second hand, limited edition Kelisa, but at the end the owner decided not to sell *rolled eyes*
• read "his little secret" on sherman kuek's blog and am encouraged..
  
• Thinking of my ‘family..’
• I’m still listening to Mariah’s number.
• She’s making a BIG come back! BIGGER than before!.
• I love her :D

Mmm.. that’s all I could think of. I think I’m just merely listing down what I have done or how I feel.

mm.. I’m feeling better now.. yay!!

i am...

wandering...

Focus! Focus! Focus!

Looking at the rate I blog nowadays, one knows what I have been doing in the office. I’ve lost my focus. I feel that I’ve been waking up every morning, coming to work and return home aimlessly. Where is my focus? What do I want to achieve in my life? What am I doing now? Am I walking towards my goals? Or, do I have any now?

I feel so disconnected. All the reasons why I accepted a job in MMU, Cyberjaya seems to be disappearing. What has caused me to stay in MMU seems to be vague beyond my reach now.

I need to reflect and to find a focus for everything that I’m doing. Else life would be meaningless. No, I wouldn’t want to live my life that way.

Dato Onn’ Jaafar

Yesterday, Tun Mahatir called us to “Remember the Tunku’s work”. No doubt, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the man who we call “Bapa Kemerdekaan” has indeed brought independence to our country.

However, when I was studying the Malaysia’s history back in Form 3, it was Dato Onn’ Jaafar that had catches my attention. He was the founder of UMNO. He was the one who sees that the vision of uniting the three majority races could free us from the colonial.

In 1950, Dato Onn has insisted to open the party to non-Malays, but to no avail. Thus, he left UMNO and formed another party (I don’t remember its name) which consists of Malay, Chinese and Indian believing that his dream will come to pass.

I tried to find online biography of Dato’ Onn Jaafar, but could only find a few. The best I could I get is this (a summary of the Book called “Imbasan peristiwa-peristiwa sebelum merdeka” ):

Dato’ Onn Jaafar was a central figure in this glorious struggle. He was the first Malay leader to be accepted by all the Malays of the Peninsular. It was no mean achievement, for the Malays in those days felt greater loyalty to their states and their rulers than to their race. But Dato’ Onn Jaafar succeeded in making them shed their narrow parochialism. This is the greatest achievement of Dato’ Onn apart of course from his success in preventing the British from expropriating the land of the Malays as they did the land of the Palestinians. Dato’ Onn helped save this country from the fate of Palestine. And so this book is important reading for those wanting to know the man who at the darkest hour of the Malays and this country, emerged to unite the Malays and galvanise them to fight one of those thoughtless schemes of the European colonialists, which could result in endless tragic wars and sufferings.

Dato’ Onn Jaafar is one of the historical figures I truly admire. I hope Malaysians will also remember him in the reflection of the Independence Day.

mm...rambling... :)

Mm.. how should I start it? I just want to link this post to Gimhan’s post on Megachurches and Christian Pop Cultural. ;p

In my limited vocabulary, I can only describe Gimhan with one word : REAL!

He’s someone that I turn to when I struggle with my Christians faith,
when I have so many unanswered questions,
when I have doubts,
when I’m in need of a listening ear
and the list goes on and on.

No, I don’t go to the church leaders or CF leaders when I have crisis, but to this guy which I call a friend. And I’m glad that he has been there through thick and thin, providing me some insight on what’s happening around the world, on religion, on church, and even on friendship. Even on the controversial that he raised, he’s still very much a man after God’s heart, IMHO. Words can’t express how glad am I to have known him even though at times he could be irritatingly “pervert”. But yes, I thank God for a friend like him.

Gim and me after CF graduation nite :D

Leona wrote on peer-pressures in church in her "Jottings' post ..
Anyway, the point I’m trying to make here is that sometimes we tend to get carried away with what other people do. Even in things like worshiping; lifting of hands, speaking in tongues, crying and jumping. I don’t deny God’s presence during worship and I have full faith that He can touch lives that way. The only question you’ve got to ask yourself is, how much of it is praising God, and how much of it is peer pressure?

I must admit that last time, I used to feel much pressured during worship, especially when my pastor is worship leading. I do not dare to sit in a position where I think she could see. (don’t get me wrong, I enjoy her worship very much, she’s a really good worship leader) I always wonder how would others thinkof me, if I didn’t raise my hands or even jump like they do? After a long time, I somehow blend into the cultural of doing that during worship. I listened and believed what they say. I sometimes do not question much.So, in a way, I’ve grow so much and yet I didn’t really learn much. Thus, when storms come my way, I fall,….so flatly on the ground. *hehe*

..so adorable..

Children can be such a blessing to us..
They can be soooooo cute..

Click here to download the video. (MUST SEE!!)

StarBucks vs Mamak

My friend, Zaai Yee told me about her conversation with her old friend from Alor Star. Out of the blue, he decided to pay my friends(Zaai Yee and her sis) a visit. So, they met at IOI Mall today.

The conversation goes like this:

He : So you all always go to Starbucks one ar?
ZY: No wor.
He : Oh, then you all go to Coffee Bean one lah?
ZY : No wor, we only go to Mamak for teh tarik.
He: Yor, need to be so Alor Star or not wor?

What!?!? I burst into laughther when i heard that. How could someone be such an ignorant?
Does goin to Starbucks or Coffeebean means so much? Does it mean that you're at the upper class in the society? Does goin to Mamak something so humiliating?

At the end, they found out the reason of his visit. His intention was to invite my friend to join his MultiLevel Marketing (MLM) scheme. My friends were quite dissapointed with him.

She asked, "So, is that what friends are for? Making use of each other when we're in need."
mmm... I don't quite agree with her tho..

me 16?

Someone in the office told me that i look like a 16 year old girl. *hahahah* Gim Han would most probably agree with him, or he could even say that i look younger. Anyway, they are not the only one who say so. Almost everyone that i met would have guess that. Maybe it's not only my look, maybe it's my actions too.

Because of that, i had always wanted to look(act) older, even to look like my own age. I somehow have this inferior complex in me that had me wanting to act older when i'm with my juniors.

Discussed this problem with my friends. They say that it's my character and there's nothing i could do to change it. They told me to accept myself as who I am. ... i'm trying...



Took this pic in June,2005 before i started work. Upon seeing this pic, someone asked me if it was taken when i was a small?*haha*


took this pic in July,2005 after i work ;p

Revenge of the Sith = the backstroke of the west' ?

.... I'm amused.... *hahaha*

the backstroke of the west

Lesson 1

I still cannot grasp the fullness of Christ. But yesterday short bible study with Annette gave me a glimpse into Christ life… of what kind of person is he…?...of how he reacts to the situation around him….? …does he ever lose his temper or lose control?

She gave some insight of Christ.. which I had never seen before, but had heard of people talking about. Hearing from them, couldn’t make me understand fully. They said that Jesus is compassionate, kind, loving… and etc. Sometimes they provide examples to it. But I still couldn’t really comprehend it. I just listened and believed, even though sometimes I can’t see it.

Somehow, studying these simple scriptures with Annette gave me a better view of who Christ is than what I had ever known. I couldn’t really describe it. But it feels great. She managed to point out little stuff that He did, which explains His characteristic.

The passage is from John 2:13-25 (Jesus Cleanses the Temple)

Questions she asked:

1) Why did he make a whip out of cords?

2) Why did he ask those sellers to take the doves out of the temple, instead of driving it out like the way he chase the sheep and the cattle?

3) Why does he react now, at this particular time, but not earlier? (The selling of sheep, cattle and doves had been going on for a long time. And he has been to the temple for Passover celebration since young)

4) What motivated his actions? And what was his concern?

And of course, there were more questions; I’m just listing down those questions that really struck d me :D

mmm…I’m still crawling… :)

Frozen Cherry..

Mmmm.... Isn't it beautiful?









But, this beauty does not last, the ice will melt soon.. and the cherry tree will be normal again. We just have to savour the moment while we could....and try to make the best of it..
mm.. like this case, capture the picture and share it with everyone ;p

I am SanguinePhlegmatic

Shua asked me to take the personality test..

My result:

chia,

Your personality is SanguinePhlegmatic. You may want to review the definitions
Your scores are below
Overall:
Melancholy:5
Phlegmatic:10
Sanguine:19
Choleric:6

Strengths:
Melancholy:0
Phlegmatic:6
Sanguine:11
Choleric:3

Weakneses:
Melancholy:5
Phlegmatic:4
Sanguine:8
Choleric:3

all girls day outing..

at.. Botanical Garden, Putrajaya.

We rented the bicycles and cycle in the Botanical Garden. The rental for the bike is RM4 per unit. :D













After the ride...


we were half dead...


so, we decided to have ice-cream (beelie's treat, thanks beelie ;p)
we were all giggling like first year students when we were in the souvenirs shop buying ice-creams.. ahha.. even asked the cashier to take a picture of us.


enjoying our ice-cream :D

Piggyback activities after dessert ;p


I had soo soo soo much fun!! It was so refreshing. We were making so much noise.. as we laughed non-stop, we even screamed when we almost bang each other.. (i hope we didn't disturb other visitors :">)

words to describe the day :
beautiful, fun ,enjoyable, laughters, friendship ,kids, innocent, happy, joy.....

:)

wow..i drove in KL today ;))

I have not been driving in KL for a very long time (not that i always drive ;p) The last time, which is the first time, i drove in KL was like 4 years ago. :D

Jason didn't have enough sleep yesterday, so, he decided to let me drive to church today. It's a manual Kelisa. :D It was so exciting.. as i had only driven from Seri Kembangan to Cyberjaya for work when my friend went on vacation. She left her car in KL, so i drove to work. And.. my driving is not very safe.. as what my friends would say. Michelle commented before that i drive like a fish.. *ahahahah* :">

Thank God, we reached Glad Tidings, PJ safely, and it only took us about 35mins to reach there :)
More details on the visit, Symphony

White wedding for Limei, congratulation... :)

I'm so so so excited. My friend will be throwing her wedding dinner in Taiping on 29th October 2005. She asked me if I could make it. Of course I'll make it for her wedding dinner...
She's the first one to get married among our friends..so, she wants to make it a memorable one..
And she set the dress code to be : WHITE :

hehe..i'm just sooo excited..
Some of her wedding photos :



Andy & Limei


once again,

congratulation Limei :)

I did it again!

This is the third time i forgot to bring my handphone to work :">
But this time it's worse, cos i left my purse as well...*aihh*
how can someone be so forgetful..?

On my carelessness, this is what my friends replied when they found out through my ym status...


Some laffed at me...


Some symphathies...


Some offer to buy me lunch (or to lend me cash) ... ;))


some called me namess :p

ahahah...okok.. i know i'm being dramatic.. all of them are just concerned about me ;p

Anyway, my cousin sent me this, and ii find it very cute, BuggingYOU
This is the lyrics of that flash..

Buggin' you
it's easy 'cause you're buggable
And buggin' you
it's all i ever want to you
Buggin' you
is more than my dreams come true..
Everything i do..
i because i love to bug you

:)

Graduation pics...

These pictures are taken by HanWei and HongYaw in MMU, Cyberjaya few days before my convocation ;)





eechia & yenli


in front of the library



in front of FOE staircase


in front of the library... eechia & yenli , i like this pic a lot :D


in front of the library .. yenli & eechia




This pic is taken on my convocation day :)

top(L to R) : christina, woanlih , chailee
bottom(L to R): eechia, zaaiyuen (ah mar), shushan, alice

more pictures coming.... :D

lalaaaa...lala...la

*updated : more of my gradution pics here :D

Full House

i guess it's time for me to update my blog...
i've even thot of stop blogging for some time.. (i guess i did, hehe)

i attended my convocation 2 weeks ago :D.
the week after tat which is last week, i took 2 days leave (Monday and Tuesday), so i came to work on Wednesday.
Due to haze, MMU Cyberjaya (the place i work at) was closed for 2 days (Thursday and Friday)
muahahaha.. i worked only for one day last week ...

Urmm.. and i watched "Full House" during the hazy period. It's a Korean comedy-love series.. i like it alot!!..






You can download the series here
Oh, before that you need to install BitTornado first :D

* aja! aja! fighting! * :D